The Third Edition of Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing is the most informed, practical, and succinct guide to digital technology for journalists. Author Mark Briggs’ forward-thinking techniques and accessible style prepares today’s journalists for tomorrow’s media landscape transformations. Readers will learn how to effectively blog, crowdsource, use mobile technology, mine databases, and expertly capture audio and video to report with immediacy, cultivate community, and convey compelling stories. Briggs helps readers quickly improve their digital literacy by presenting the basics and building on them to progress towards more specialized skills within multimedia. Readers will become equipped to better manage online communities and build an online audience. Journalism Next is a quick yet valuable read that provides a detailed roadmap for journalists to reference time and time again.

Foreword By Jennifer Preston, vice president, journalism, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Preface

UNIT ONE: BASICS

Introduction: Journalism is about people, not technology

Welcome to the age of transformation

What job can I get in journalism?

Summary

1 We are all Web workers now

Digital information

What is it? How the Internet works

How Web servers work

How Web browsers work

What is it? Syndicated content with RSS

What’s Next? Set up an RSS reader and subscribe to feeds

What is it? FTP (file transfer protocol)

What's Next? Set up an FTP program

Web-design basics

What is it? How Web pages work

What’s Next? Build an HTML page quickly

What is it? CSS (cascading style sheets)

What's Next? Add CSS to HTML

What is it? XML (extensible markup language)

What is it? Content management systems

What’s Next? Launch a WordPress site

What is it? Mobile apps versus mobile Web

What’s Next? Make a WordPress site for mobile

Newsroom Innovator: Burt Herman, Storify

Summary: Start to see digital opportunities

2 Blogging and microblogging: Publish, distribute and connect

What is it? Blog basics

What is it? Microblogging basics

What's Next? Make a plan, create a blog

What's Next? How to build an audience for your blog

What's Next? Start using Twitter

Newsroom Innovator: Matt Thompson, NPR

Summary: Love it or lease it

3 Crowd-powered collaboration

What is it? Crowdsourcing

What is it? Open-source reporting

What is it? Pro-am journalism

What is it? Managing news as a conversation

What’s Next? Build and manage a community online

What’s Next? Keep conversations accurate and ethical

Newsroom Innovator: Sona Patel, The New York Times

Summary: Collaborative publishing, social media are here to stay

4 Going mobile

What is it? Mobile journalism

What’s Next? Making mobile journalism

Newsroom Innovator: Etan Horowitz, CNN Digital

Summary: Mobile future

UNIT TWO: MULTIMEDIA

5 Visual storytelling with photographs

What is it? Digital photography

What’s Next? Shooting better photos with a digital camera

What’s Next? Working with digital photographs

What’s Next? Publish your photos online

Newsroom Innnovator: Josh Trujillo, SeattlePl.com

Summary: Photography is a critical tool for journalists

6 Making audio journalism visible

What is it? Audio journalism

What’s Next? Get started with audio

What’s Next? Gear up and get out there

What’s Next? Editing digital audio

What’s Next? Start podcasting

Newsroom Innovator: Robert Smith, NPR Planet Money

Summary: Audio journalism—Part of next big thing

7 Telling stories with video

What is it? The digital video revolution

What’s Next? Plan your video and go

What’s Next? Voice in video

What’s Next? Gear up and get out there

What’s Next? Shooting good video

What’s Next? Working with digital video files

What’s Next? Publishing video online

Newsroom innovator: Matt Mrozinski, WTHR, TVNewsStoryTellers.com

Summary: Start small, but make sure you start

UNIT THREE: EDITING AND DECISION MAKING

8 Data-driven journalism and digitizing your life

What is it? Your digital life

What is it? Data-driven journalism

What’s Next? Building spreadsheets, databases

What is it? Map mashups

What’s Next? Build an interactive map with data

Newsroom Innovator: Ryan Pitts, The Spokesman-Review

Summary: Better life, better journalism

9 Building a digital audience for news

What is it? Measuring journalism

What’s Next? Track all that you publish

What’s Next? Track your audience

What is it? Search engine optimization (SEO)

What’s Next? Use SEO to grow your audience

What Next? Use social media as distribution channels

Newsroom Innovator: Marissa Nelson, CBC News & Centres

Summary: Track, measure, distribute, adapt

Appendix: Suggested Web resources

About the Author

Index

I have passed this to a colleague who teaches media and mass communication. He is considering it. For business communications, it probably is not ideal. It has been written with practitioners in mind. We use books that are more theoretical in nature. Undoubtedly, this is an excellent book for trainees, however.

Blogging and microblogging have been merged into one chapter for readers to conveniently reference blogging information.

Crowdsourcing and managing news as a conversation are discussed in the same chapter to help readers effectively build and manage online communities.

New tools and software featured throughout, including Twitter, LinkedIn, SoundCloud, and more, show readers how to leverage digital technology in an ever-changing media landscape.

Six new Newsroom Innovators installments contributed by digital pioneers from leading news outlets including The New York Times, NPR, CNN, and CNBC go behind the scenes to share valuable tips and suggestions.

KEY FEATURES:

Newsroom Innovators: Go behind the scenes with top professionals who share valuable tips and suggestions.

Drilling Down: Breakout boxes help readers move beyond the basics to more technical and advanced concepts.

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